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Catalan Institute of Palaeontology Miquel Crusafont

Research to study fossils and reconstruct a picture of life in the past

Using virtual tools such as CT and lasers, to be able to study fossils and propose hypotheses about the past

In this area the five research areas of the centre are explained and also how to apply scientific method and generate new knowledge.

The five lines of investigation are: the Mesozoic, which studies the flora and fauna from 250 to 65 million years ago, better known as the dinosaur era; the Neogene and Quaternary periods, which studies wildlife from 23 million years ago to 10,000 years; palaeobiology, which studies the biology of extinct mammals and their eco-habitats; Palaeoprimatology, which investigates the origin and evolution of primates, and virtual palaeontology, which investigates the potential of new technology to study fossils and collaborates with all the above mentioned lines.

The researchers consider scientific problems and try to solve them by using a method that can be summarized in four phases: the first is the observation of the study piece; the second is the formulation of a working hypothesis, which will later be validated or discarded; the third is the verification of said hypothesis by comparing it with other fossil material and current examples, consultation of literature, the use of virtual palaeontological tools etc.; and the last stage, which consists of the interpretation of the results obtained in order to validate or discard the initial hypothesis. If the hypothesis is wrong, it needs reformulating.